Deadly \"super bacteria\" are the outcome of decades of antibiotic overuse. The

Question

Deadly "super bacteria" are the outcome of decades of antibiotic overuse. The same antibiotics used to treat bacterial infection in people also help sick animals. On many farms, these antibiotics are used on a daily basis to prevent infection of healthy animals. This practice may have contributed to evolution of the new antibiotic-resistant human pathogens. One suggestion is to ban the preventive use of antibiotics that are of value to humans in farm animals. Would you support such a ban? What are the strongest arguments for banning the preventive use of antibiotics that are of value to humans in farm animals? What is the evidence that the use of antibiotics in livestock is contributing to the development of antibiotic-resistant human pathogens? What are the strongest arguments against banning the preventive use of antibiotics that are of value to humans in farm animals? What are the benefits of using preventive antibiotics? Should the animal husbandry practice of repeated dosing of healthy animals with antibiotics stop?

Explanation / Answer

Just some thoughts: A problem with widespread usage of antibiotics in animals that are useful for humans is that resistant bacteria that develops in those animals may find their way into human populations. In fact, there is evidence that there is a link between overuse of antibiotics in animals to resistant bacteria in humans. Of course, use of these antibiotics is also important. It keeps the animals that farmers raise healthy and may also keep the cost of food down. If farm animals get sick and die more easily, then it follows that there will be less meat and animal products available. It's certainly not a one-sided argument. You could argue that it might be okay if the passage of people and animals in and out of these farms are strictly controlled to prevent export of resistant bacteria from the farms. However, this seems like a difficult task to undertake, and transmission of resistant bacteria would be almost inevitable.

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